


Nicknames

by angel_authoress



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Castiel, Drabble, M/M, Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 21:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5681491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_authoress/pseuds/angel_authoress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean has many nicknames for Castiel. But why does "Cas" mean the most to him? </p>
<p>(Or, the story of how Castiel got the name "Cas" and how he reacted after hearing it from Dean for the first time)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nicknames

**Author's Note:**

> This has probably been done before. 
> 
> I've always thought that Dean started to regard Castiel as a friend when he started calling him "Cas", and I think that's a pretty big deal to Castiel to be regarded as Dean's friend.
> 
> I intended to turn it into a lengthy one shot, but it turned out as a drabble. 
> 
> So yeah. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. ^^

It happens on a day like any other.

Watching Dean sleep has, admittedly, become a favorite pastime of his. As an angel, he did not require sleep. So while Sam and Dean were asleep, Castiel often found that he didn’t have much to do. Of course there were his Heavenly duties that he had to attend to. But when he wasn’t busy with Heaven or the Winchesters, he found himself rather bored.

Honestly, he hadn’t meant to watch Dean sleep _again._ Dean clearly didn’t like it and always said it was “creepy” to wake up and find him standing next to him. Castiel couldn’t really see the problem with it. He was merely watching over Dean.

Just as he is about to fly off, he hears the alarm clock that Dean had set the night before going off. Castiel nearly jumps as he rushes to go turn it off. Surely Dean needed more sleep than this. After all, he had been restless all night. But just as he was about to silence it, Dean was already waking up. When Dean fully awakened, he just so happened to notice Castiel not-so-subtly standing right beside his bed.

He sighs exasperatedly. “Damn it, why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what Dean?”

“Watching me sleep.”

“I am watching over you, Dean. I want to ensure that you are safe. Also… I don’t really have anything better to do. I don’t need to sleep.”

Dean rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well, you could’ve found something to do instead of staring at me all night. It’s freakin’ creepy man.”

Castiel tilts his head, squinting his eyes in confusion. “I don’t understand how it’s “creepy”, as you put it. I…” he pauses, knowing that he could be making Dean even more uncomfortable with his next statement. “I like seeing that you are safe. And other times… I like to watch you dream.”

Dean’s emerald eyes go wide. “You can watch my dreams?”

Castiel nods. “Yes. I have watched a few of them, and I must say that some of the things you dream about are rather… inappropriate.”

Dean shrugs. “Hey man, it ain’t like I can help it. I ain’t got no control over what I dream.” He smirks languidly. “Were you there for the one about the strippers?”

“Dean, you’re going to have to be more specific, because you’ve had many dreams about strippers.”

“Never mind.” Dean says with a snicker. “Hey, where’d Sammy run off to? Did you see him leave?”

Castiel briefly glances out the window. “Sam left about 30 minutes ago. He said that he was getting his morning jog in before you two check out of the motel.”

Dean rolls his eyes. “Ugh. Running. Who enjoys doing that? I mean, the two of us gotta run for our lives practically all the time. Why would he wanna do it for fun?”

“I don’t think I’m the right person to ask about this. I do not need to run very often thanks to my wings.” Castiel replies.

Dean shoots him a quick glare as he tosses the blanket off of him and rises to his feet. “Well good for you, feathers. I’m gonna get a quick shower. If Sammy comes back before I get out, just tell him I’m showering. Oh, and uh, one more thing.”

Castiel looks up to meet Dean’s gaze. “Yes Dean?”

A small, shy grin spreads across Dean's face. “Thanks, Cas. You know, for uh, looking out for me. It uh- it means a lot. Even if it is super creepy.”

But instead of a stiff and strained version of “you’re welcome” like Dean was expecting, he instead got a wide-eyed and slack-jawed Castiel. The angel’s deep blue eyes were practically as wide as saucers; mouth hanging open slightly.

Dean waved a hand in front of his face. “Cas? What’s the matter? You’re starin’ off into space.”

“Cas.” he suddenly blurts, the word rolling off of his tongue.

Dean raises a brow. “Yeah, that’s… what I called you. What, you got a problem with it?”

Castiel shakes his head. “No, of course not Dean. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“That’s a nickname.”

“Yeah, and?”

Castiel’s face flushes as he speaks. “No one has ever given me a nickname before. I’ve never… been called Cas.”

Dean goes silent for a moment. He sees that the angel is clearly somewhat embarrassed. He briefly recalls all of the times that he has called Castiel “dude” or “man”, and other times it was “feathers” or, when he was angry at him, “dick”. He had never reacted to any of those. But the term “Cas” seemed to get a reaction out of him.

Something begins to stir within him and he’s not quite sure what it is. But the fact that an angel of the Lord is so stunned about a nickname… it puzzles him. “You mean… none of your feathered friends up there ever called you anything but Castiel?”

Cas nods. “Yes. My brothers and sisters and I speak formally to each other, usually. Only angels who have formed very personal attachments speak informally to each other. And so, since I have not bonded with another angel, I have never been called anything but Castiel.”

For some reason, the thought of Castiel “bonding” to another one of those winged dicks makes Dean’s stomach churn. “Well, on Earth, we’re not always that formal. Humans usually drop the formalities after a little while.”

Cas averts Dean’s eyes. “Yes, but Dean… aren’t nicknames typically reserved for friends and family?”

Dean nods. “Well, yeah. I thought that at this point you were something like my friend. I mean, unless I’m reading things wrong here. So that means I can call you Cas, right? Or is that not formal enough for you? Cause honestly, Castiel is a mouthful.”

A large smile (a smile that could outshine the sun, in Dean's opinion) spreads across Cas’ face, and Dean sees more emotion in him right in that moment than ever before. “Of course. You… you may call me “Cas”, if you wish. It’s just that I… I have never had a true friend before, Dean. So thank you. I am glad that I met you.”

Dean is thankful that it’s still slightly dark out because if not, Cas would be able to clearly see the red on his face. “U-Uh, yeah, sure. No problem. I’m just gonna… shower now. Yeah. You uh, keep an eye out for Sammy, alright? And don’t go disappearing on us without saying anything, got it?”

Castiel nods. “Of course. I will inform you if I need to depart. But otherwise, Dean, I will remain with you two. If that is okay.”

Dean doesn’t answer, only smiles as he walks into the bathroom. He shuts the door and starts the water, and once he is sure that he can’t hear him, he mutters “’Course it’s okay, Cas.”


End file.
